


Scatter brained

by nobetterlove



Series: Casual Party [2]
Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV), Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
Genre: AU, Alternate Scene, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, redo, timeline change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-27 20:45:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10816422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobetterlove/pseuds/nobetterlove
Summary: The night of the dance. Things heat up when the suits and ties come out to play.





	Scatter brained

Though Tony pressed his foot to the floor, the two of them ended up late. Tony snuck into his first period class without a look from the professor. Rule following wasn’t his biggest forte, and his behavior despite that was good enough for people, especially his teachers, to cut him a little slack. His entrance was quiet, practically unnoticed by everyone in the class. That was the good thing about being who he was. People didn’t bother him the same way he didn’t bother them.

Tony spent the rest of the day much the same way. Keeping to himself whenever he could. In French, Clay snuck him an extra couple looks, as if he didn’t believe what happened earlier, or something. Tony tried to smile big, hoping the look came off reassuring. Honestly, he still had to convince himself of the occurrences that morning. A part of him wanted Clay to be mad about what he did. There was a breach of trust, even if it gave them the opportunity to embark upon this journey together. Clay talked about a fresh start for them, where feelings were out in the open, and neither of them were detached in their relationship. Tony only wished that the detachment didn’t occur to begin with. Deep down, Tony knew he’d spend the rest of their time together making it up to Clay. He didn’t think about the other boy losing a friend in the withdrawing process, only his heart and protecting it.

One way he knew he could make it up to Clay was with the dance. The boy seemed to be dreading it over the last couple of weeks, but with Tony in tow, he figured they could have a really good time. Giving up his DJ duties freed him up to be an actual date. Since coming out, he never really made a big deal out of PDA. It pissed Ryan off something fierce in their brief relationship. Tony liked to keep his own stuff to himself, feelings and displays of them included. Yet, knowing how much he wants to dote on Clay throughout the dance made him think that maybe he just wasn’t with the right person to bring that out of him. Clay didn’t pressure him. Not once in their friendship did Tony ever feel like he was doing something he didn’t want to be doing. With Ryan, withholding the PDA became more of game then actually trying to find comfort in the act. With Clay, Tony didn’t think he’d be able to keep his hands to himself, let alone want to.

No, this was his chance to start over in a couple different ways, and the dance was the first step to that.

After dropping Clay off at home, Tony set out to finish up the few errands he needed to run before the dance the next night. The florist was able to sneak him in after he called and spoke very highly of her work done for his oldest brother’s wedding. He could hear the exasperation in her voice, yet, knew the flattery did its job. There would be two black and white boutonnieres waiting for him whenever he got there that afternoon.

As expected, the lady was a little on edge when he went to pay, but that didn’t matter—the final product was absolutely beautiful. The flower was white, tipped with black ink splattered around the edge of it. She used the barest amount of ribbon to enhance the black of the flower. Tony made sure to thank her profusely. “My date is going to love it,” he told her. That brought a grin to her face, the stony expression of someone already on edge falling for a second. “Thank you again.” Tony said to her, giving her hand a soft pat where it rested on the counter. He didn’t wait to hear anything more from her, the boy just glad she was able to get them done for him.

His next stop was the mall. Tony wasn’t really a suit guy, but knew how to dress himself up without it. The black denim jeans and leather jacket that sat on his computer chair would look good with the dress shirt he wanted to get. Hearing about Clay’s outfit inspired the choice, Tony not wanting to match, yet wanting people to know they were there together. It took him a browse through two of his favorite stores before finding what he was looking for; a black banded collar shirt with accents of teal around the neck and sleeves. He purposely went with that particular style of collar so his ma didn’t try and make him wear a tie. Those just… weren’t his style.

The mall trip exhausted him. With his outfit complete, Tony made his way home, hoping to get an early night. Clay deserved the best looking Tony there was, meaning he needed as much beauty sleep as he could get.

\---

Later the next evening, Tony’s Mustang pulled up to the Jensen residence like it did so often these days. Tony reached up and pulled down the visor, flipping up the cover that hid the mirror. Calloused fingers ran through the bulk of his hair, making sure there weren’t any loose strands, or missed curls. He spent way too much time in front of the mirror doing his hair. He forced himself to start over twice before deciding to screw it and leave it how it turned out. Tony would never cut his hair, he knew that. Yet, he wished the damn curls would cease to exist. Their waves gave more trouble than they were worth. Taking a clearing breath, Tony shook his head. This was just Clay. Clay, his best friend of several years. What he looked like never mattered before.

With Clay’s flower in his hand, Tony finally got out of the Mustang. His steps were quick, the boy eager to get their night started. They hung out all the time, but this would be the first time they went on an actual ‘date’. Hell, this was really the first date that ever mattered to Tony.

Stopping at the door, Tony took another deep breath before raising his hand, knocking on the door three times. He stepped back, hoping beyond anything that Clay answered the door, not his parents. That hope was quickly squashed when Mr. Jensen answered the door. “Tony! How good to see you,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. The older man took a step away from the door, making a sweeping ‘come in’ motion with his hand. “Come on in. Clay’s just finishing up.”

“Thanks, Mr. Jensen. It’s nice to see you, too.”

This really was a date; Tony couldn’t help but think to himself as he followed Mr. Jensen into their sitting room. He sat down nervously on the edge of the couch, the plastic of the container in his hands digging into the callous of his fingers.

Thankfully, Mr. Jensen didn’t hang around to talk. The older man made his way into the kitchen, his hand reaching up and dragging his glasses back down over his eyes. Tony knew enough about Clay’s dad to know he was either reading, writing, or doing something for his students. Both Clay’s parents were too smart for their own good.

The sound of the stairs dipping had Tony looking over his shoulder, his breath hitching when he saw Clay come down the stairs. It wasn’t often he thought of the word beautiful when it came to guys. Handsome, hot, charming, but never beautiful. He saved that for his sister when she looked her best, or his mom when he knew she was a little self conscious about what she had on. Clay, however, had never looked more beautiful in his entire life. The shirt the boy picked out enhanced the color of his eyes, and the suit—the suit sat perfectly against all the right angles of the boy’s body. Perfect, he thought. Damn perfect.

“What?” Clay said, breaking Tony of his little trance. He didn’t realize how hard he’d been staring until he looked up, Mrs. Jensen was staring back at him with a perplexed look on her face. They caught eyes and perplexity quickly turned to understanding. The woman knew what an amazing son she had, there wasn’t any way she could blame Tony for his reaction.

“What, what?” Tony replied, finally looking Clay dead in the eye. Blue seemed to sparkle, the light by their stairs picking up the little grey flecks, making them really shine.

“You said damn perfect, I think,” Clay replied, his face alight with mischief. What a shit. Clay knew exactly what he’d said, even if Tony didn’t realize he said it. “I-uhm. Yes. Damn perfect. You. That suit. The combination. Damn perfect.” Tony’s face felt ablaze with his admittance, but Clay’s smile was more than worth it. It seemed like the edges of his cheeks were trying to crawl into his hairline, his face broken open with the wideness of his grin.

“This is for you,” he said, breaking the staring match between the two of them as he dropped his eyes to look at the flower. He brought the container up, shaking it. “I told you I’d get you the prettiest one.” He took a step forward then, opening the container as he did. When he put his own on earlier, there hadn’t been a single moment of hesitation. Stepping up to put on Clay’s, however, Tony couldn’t get his fingers to stop their shaking. Clay’s mom watched him, he could feel her eyes on his back as he finally, finally pinned the thing to the lapel of Clay’s suit. “Finally,” Tony breathed. Using their closeness to reach up and caress Clay’s cheek. “More than perfect, too.”

\---

Mrs. Jensen demanded pictures of the two of them before they could leave. Tony wrapped his arm around Clay’s middle, the taller boy pulling him in close around the shoulders. They smiled widely, both happy to be getting out of the house and away from Clay’s parents, both happy to be going somewhere like this with their best friend. Those pictures would be something to look at later when they were trying to remember all the details.

Walking out the door, Tony was stopped by Mrs. Jensen, her hand grasping his forearm for a second. He looked up at Clay, nodding with his head to keep moving, that he’d catch up in a second. Back pedaling back into the house, Tony’s brow pinched, his confusion palpable as he looked at Mrs. Jensen.

“You make him happy.” She started, no question in her voice whatsoever. “You also disappeared, which did not make him happy. I like you, Tony. I like you a lot. Don’t make me start to not like you, okay? That’s my boy. I know you know what that means.” With that, she patted his cheek, giving him a soft smile. “You look pretty good yourself, by the way. The subtle way you two match—damn perfect.” This time, her smile was full, twinkly with affection, just like her son's.

Tony couldn’t help but grin at that encounter. Clay was so damn loved by all the people around him, and Tony wondered if the boy actually knew it. No time to dwell on it, though. They were going to dance the night away surrounded by the sophomore class in their lamely decorated gym.

He caught up to Clay a couple minutes later, the boy standing by the passenger side of the car. Blue eyes looked at him questioningly, like they were afraid to ask what his mother might have said. Tony shook his head, grinning. “She loves you. Thank her for it.” Tony left it at that, putting a hand up when Clay tried to question him further. “You ready for this, Jensen? I’ve been known to be… quite the dancer,” he said, wiggling his eye brows as they both got settled into the seat.

Clay tried to stop himself from grinning, his lip turning up slightly. “I can’t dance. Or don’t. So, I’m glad one of us has it covered.”

This time, Clay didn’t ask to put on a tape. The boy’s hands were already shuffling through the collection, long fingers settling on the one Tony hoped he would. Earlier that day, he spent a couple hours putting together a new tape, one with a compilation of songs the two of them loved. Over the passed few weeks of riding in the car, Tony kept tabs on Clay’s favorites, making sure this tape had them all. “Is this new?” the blue eyed boy asked, shaking the tape between his fingers.

“Yes sir, it is. Put it in. It’s our greatest hits.” Tony spoke softly, a smile on his face.

\---

The rest of the drive was comfortable. Tony watched Clay’s reaction to the songs, each one getting a different one, all of them, though, totally worth the extra time it took putting the damn thing together.

They parked quickly, even after school hours had people parking in their normal spots. When they climbed out, Tony hesitated, walking over to Clay’s side of the car. “How—I mean… how much do you want people to know? I’d like to take your hand and walk in together, but I don’t mind not, either. I’ll be corny and say that I’m here to be with you. So, whatever you’re comfortable with.” It didn’t occur to Tony to ask that question before now. Now that it was on the table, Tony was anxious to know. They’d gone through all the other steps of a real date. Even the warning wasn’t very far off from the usual. Yet, Tony knew Clay was shy and didn’t like to attract too much attention to himself. No matter what, he told himself, there wouldn’t be a single drop of disappointment.

Clay didn’t answer, he merely slipped his hand into Tony’s and tugged. “There are lame decorations to be seen, Padilla. Stop worrying. That’s my job. It’s all going to be good, man. Let’s go have some fun.” Tony shook his head, surprised and not all at once. Clay Jensen had to be one of the strongest people he’d ever known, even if the boy didn’t have a lick of a clue about it.

Clay squeezed his hand when they walked into the gym after giving up their tickets. The bombardment of noise, an abundance of cologne, and people shocked his system for a second. This was like walking the halls the day before summer vacation, only everyone was dressed a little bit nicer. They ran into Jessica Davies first, her eyes somewhat glazed with what Tony could only assume was alcohol. “Clay and Tony. Tony and Clay. How fucking cute!” she exclaimed, coming forward to put her hands on their shoulders. “I always knew you were gay, Jensen,” she slurred, this time squeezing with both her hands. “So fucking cute. You two have fun.” She walked off, then, her steps a little off.

Clay looked over at Tony, his mouth hanging wide open. “How drunk was she? Do you think we need to be worried about her?” Even in situations like this, Clay was more worried about everyone else. Tony shook his head, pulling on Clay’s hand that was still securely wrapped up in his own. “No, the only thing we need to worry about is you, me, and the dance floor.” Tony chuckled at the look of dread-excitement passing over Clay’s face. “Don’t worry, Corazon. I’ve got the moves.”

Without another word, Tony pulled him until they were in a spot they could spread out. His hands moved to Clay’s hips, fingers digging in just slightly. “The key,” he started, rolling his hips forward, the hands on Clay’s guiding him to move with him. “is to follow the lead. The music puts down a beat that you can follow pretty easily,” he finished, voice loud to be heard over the noise around them. After a couple minutes, Clay was getting the hang of it. They moved together pretty well. The taller boy relaxed into him, letting the hands on his hips be what guided him.

The song changed to something a little slower, Tony pulling back so that the roll of his hips was a little… dirtier. He let one hand move until it was wrapped around Clay’s shoulder, their hips now plastered together. Coming from a Puerto Rican family, dancing was one thing he knew how to do. He couldn’t count all the backyard barbecues he’d been to that turned into dance parties, everyone dancing with everyone, the beat fast, then slow and dirty with no one missing a single beat.

A soft moan had him looking up. Tony took in the dilation of Clay’s pupils, the way his mouth sort of hung open. “Is dancing always this sexy, or is it just because it’s you?” Tony heard, Clay’s cheeks reddening as the question hit his own ears. “Don’t answer that. I already know.”

Tony leaned forward instead, pressing their cheeks together so his mouth was close to Clay’s ear. “You’re sexy. Which makes me feel sexy. Dancing could…” he trailed off, rolling his hips deliciously slow as the beat changed, “always be this sexy.” His hip movement punctuating that point.

The redness of Clay’s cheeks darkened just as the song changed again, this one a little bit faster, like when they first got on the dance floor. Palming his cheek, Tony let his ring covered thumb brush against the skin there. “You’re a much better dancer than you think.”

The songs continued to change as the two of them stayed plastered together. After a slow song where the two rocked closely back and forth, Tony needed a break. He figured Clay probably did too, if the redness of his cheeks said anything about it.

“Want to go grab some punch, or something?” Tony asked, his body turned, eyes roaming the gym to see where they had all that shit sitting.

“Or something,” Clay replied, his pupils still dilated, eyes taking on a glassy glow, almost like the other was drunk. Tony blinked, confused for a second before Clay’s lips were suddenly upon him. “Or something,” he repeated again, Clay shoving his head towards the exit they’d come in earlier in the evening. “Let’s go somewhere,” the taller boy finally said, his voice shaky with what Tony could now place as arousal.

“Hang tight, Jensen. I know the perfect place to go.” As he spoke, Tony grabbed Clay’s hand, pulling them back through the crowd to the exit. Several people tried to stop them to talk, but the look in Clay’s eyes and the impatience Tony addressed them all with had each stepping aside, letting them pass.

Their hands were all over each other the minute they were out of the school building. There were couples all over the parking lot doing exactly what they were. Some pressed against the side of their cars, some fogging up the windows where they wouldn't be caught. Tony continued to walk them back little by little, the Mustang a safe place where they could get wherever the hell his brain decided to take him.

They finally made it to the car, Tony pressing Clay flush against the side of it before opening the door and letting the taller boy in. “You’re too much, Clay Jensen,” Tony babbled, shutting the door behind the boy before walking around to his side and climbing in.

Turning the keys in the ignition, the shorter boy put the car in reverse, backing out without a second glance at the building behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I lied! I couldn't fit all the stuff I wanted into this installment. There's gonna be one more, which will be all smut. Something to look forward to in the next couple of days! Anyway, leave any prompts you may have below. As always, thanks for the read!


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